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SOLD: Carleton Villa – The Ultimate Fixer Upper

Posted on February 24, 2024

Carleton Island Lot 1, Cape Vincent, New York, This one has a serious Agatha Christie vibe to it!  Think about it - a deserted, crumbling mansion isolated on a secluded island, and an owner who died mysteriously on his first night sleeping in the house (for real!). Add a dark stormy night and you have the making of a first-rate ghost story.  No top-notch Hollywood writer or set designer could have dreamt up a setting any more perfect than this!   [caption id="attachment_41152" align="alignleft" width="261"] Paul Malo surveying Carleton Villa[/caption] I have to be...

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Historic Weekend Retreat Suitable For An Auto Baron

Posted on January 27, 2024

5966 Wellington Pl, Battle Creek, Michigan Now, for someone who has always been enamored by those rambling turn of the century country houses, and weekend estates built by captains of industry, oil magnates and robber barons, I had never imagined that an affordable (in relative terms of course) opportunity to own one would ever exist.  Now there are always historic Newport, Hamptons or Connecticut mega compounds coming on the market, but they all seem to come with $30, $40, or $80 million price tags and are of such a grandiose size...

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For Sale: A French Chateau (Weekend Retreat)?

Posted on January 2, 2024

Corrèze, France —Listed for €690,000 (approx. $755,000 US) So, something a little different (and well outside if my determined commuting tolerance).  Something I would not have initially considered, but ….. how about a 15th-century castle which comes with its own hamlet of outbuildings on a panoramic and private 15-acre property in the Corrèze region of France, a convenient 30-minute drive from the picturesque town of Brive-la-Gaillarde (or 5 hours from Paris). If you’re like me and have ever been to Europe, you can easily see yourself living there – not only...

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For Sale: Historic Island Lighthouse

Posted on August 24, 2023

Ok, how about this one: an 1867 active, automated, fully functioning gray stone Lighthouse on a remote island near the eastern end of Lake Ontario.  It is the oldest lighthouse on Lake Ontario and presides on over an acre of waterfront land, surrounded on three sides by a New York State operated “wildlife refuge” which has recently been sold. The lighthouse itself is 55 feet in height and, including the attached two-story limestone keepers dwelling, contains 2500 square feet of space all of which overlooks its own beach and 160...

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For Sale: Connecticut Island With A Rumored Pirate Past

Posted on August 8, 2023

6 High Island, Branford, Connecticut   Now, here's a fun little island getaway with an intriguing pedigree.  Located in prestigious Long Island Sound, just off the coast of Connecticut, in a collection of 365 tiny bumps of land known locally as "The Thimble Islands" (although I have no idea why), rests 6 High Island, a charming 4-bedroom, 3-bathroom cottage on it's own private 8-acre island sanctuary.   According to local lore, the Thimble Islands provided the perfect hiding place for the notorious pirate, Captain Kidd. Apparently, in the late 1600’s Captain William Kidd sailed up...

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Observation – The Senseless Loss of Inisfada

Posted on July 17, 2023

INISFADA - Manhasset, North Hempstead, Nassau County, New York   Buckle up Buttercups – I’m in a real mood – angry, frustrated and most of all disheartened - Again! In all honesty, it’s a mood that started in late 2013 (yes, I do tend to fester over these things!), but this mood has been recently reawakened.  This diatribe may very likely be the first of several rants or verbal installments on this particular topic (Hell, I could create an entirely separate website on this subject alone – maybe call it “people and things...

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Sold: Homewood, The Perfect House

Posted on July 6, 2023

188 Dorset St W, Port Hope, Ontario, Canada Homewood is a house I have a real connection with, having been a weekend guest on numerous occasions in the distant past and can honestly tell you - this place is just magical!  Not that I don’t go to a lot of weekend events at friends’ homes and cottages (hey, I’m a popular guy!) -the difference here is the home itself.  This captivating place in Port Hope was like stepping back in time – stepping back visually of course while not giving up...

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For Sale: Mansion … Hospital … Hotel?

Posted on June 30, 2023

1500 Brinker Road, Wellsburg, West Virginia Square Feet 80,443   Beds 61, Full Baths 24 Half Baths 40 Listed on the National Register of Historic Places Dec 31.1984 (link),   Ok now, bear with me on this one for a minute and let me explain.  This one at first glance looks like an out-of-control army barracks (or … haunted psych hospital?), but … when you start looking closely (and doing some honest googling of the address) you realize that somewhere in the middle of this jumble of kindling is a turn of the century...

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For Sale: Vintage Philip Johnson-Designed Lakefront Retreat in Willsboro NY

Posted on June 14, 2023

Now here’s a sweet little MCM charmer, which is not only captivatingly stunning, but also comes with quite the pedigree.  The 1949 modernist dwelling was designed by the famous Phillip Johnson (1906–2005), who was not only the founding director of the Museum of Modern Art's Architecture Department, he is responsible for an impressive portfolio of international post-modern architectural commissions (Manhattan’s iconic “AT&T Building” and nearby “Lipstick Building”, and Pittsburgh’s PPG Place to name but a few). Johnson is best known however for his own New Canaan, CT weekend home, simply...

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Movie Houses: Psycho

Posted on June 12, 2023

There are few movies where a single building can create the atmosphere required to set the scene for an entire film.  Some that do: the isolated Timberline Lodge in Oregon (standing in as the Overlook Hotel in 1980’s The Shining); the large Dutch Colonial house at 112 Ocean Avenue (1979’s The Amityville Horror), and the J Paul Getty home used as Gloria Swanson’s decaying renaissance mansion on Sunset Boulevard (1950).   When properly presented and with the right creative team, a building can become the movie’s centerpiece, setting the stage on which the actors perform.  The...

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